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Hey, thanks everybody! My comments about forgetting where you put your
graphics and bad performance were meant to be totally tongue-in-cheek.
At previous jobs, I always imported by reference. But I think the
manager's preference also has something to do with our print
process...However, I had not considered that one may need to use a
single graphic in several places. I deal with screen shots, they are in
one place only, and if they're outdated they must be replaced entirely.
I also did not know that graphics can be the source of file corruption.
Thanks again. I'm forwarding this to the High One.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sharon Burton [SMTP:sharonburton -at- EMAIL -dot- MSN -dot- COM]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 1998 12:05 PM
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> Subject: Re: Framemaker questions (long)...
>
> Because when the next version of your product comes along, those
> graphics
> will change. And you have to remember every place that they are copied
> into.
> If you make a directory under your current project called graphics and
> always put the graphics in there, then you know where they are. Then
> when
> the graphic that appears on 34 different pages in your 420 manual
> changes,
> you simply name the new version of the graphic the same name as the
> old
> graphic and save it in the graphics directory. Now it is automatically
> updated through out the manual and you have time to do other things.
> Like
> paginate or spell check or index. Otherwise, you are being paid to do
> it all
> by hand - a terrible waste of your already aggressively scheduled
> time.
>
> And the first time you completely corrupt a 20 meg file right before a
> production deadline because the graphics were copied in to it, you
> won't
> think it is a fair trade off at all. Even if you have a backup, there
> is a
> lot of work to be redone and you have no assurance that, after you
> finish
> the changes to the backup, the file won't corrupt again. Or that when
> it is
> time to update the existing manual, that the files have not corrupted
> while
> they just sat. I have seen it far too many times and once during
> crunch is
> too often.
>
> sharon
>
> Sharon Burton
> Anthrobytes Consulting
> Home of RoboNEWS, the award-winning unofficial RoboHELP Newsletter
> www.anthrobytes.com
> anthrobytes -at- anthrobytes -dot- com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kathleen Kuvinka <kkuvinka -at- CLIENTELE -dot- COM>
> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU <TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>
> Date: Wednesday, 10 June, 1998 11:17 AM
> Subject: Re: Framemaker questions (long)...
>
>
> >My manager seems to think that importing by REFERENCE is harder
> because
> >then you have to remember where you put all of the graphics.! The
> >sluggish performance is a fair trade-off, I guess.
> >
> >But why is maintenance harder?
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Sharon Burton [SMTP:sharonburton -at- EMAIL -dot- MSN -dot- COM]
> >> Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 1998 10:39 AM
> >> To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
> >> Subject: Re: Framemaker questions (long)...
> >>
> >> Never (OK hardly ever) copy graphics directly into your document.
> It
> >> makes
> >> your life harder - you have to find all those graphics when the
> >> graphic
> >> changes and it will -, FrameMaker hates it - the file size
> increases
> >> dramatically and performance suffers - , and FrameMaker is much
> more
> >> likely
> >> to corrupt the file - large file size equals more opportunity.
> >>
> >> Even if the graphics are small, the file size doesn't increase and
> the
> >> file
> >> does not corrupt, please think of the poor writer who will follow
> you
> >> and
> >> must make updates to the file. Copying into FrameMaker makes
> updating
> >> and
> >> maintaining so hard.
> >>
> >> sharon
> >>
> >
> ^&^~~~
> >Send commands to listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g., SIGNOFF
> TECHWR-L)
> >
> >
>
> &^~~~
> Send commands to listserv -at- listserv -dot- okstate -dot- edu (e.g., SIGNOFF
> TECHWR-L)
>
